Darkest Days
by Crystal565
Summary: Sirius is freed at the end of Harry's third year, but he has a very big secret that he has been hiding for twelve years.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so this is kind of weird. I guess I'm kind of into weird fics even if their not crossovers. The person that is referred to here is a canon character. I'm sure you'll guess who it is I'm talking about. I've dropped every hint except the actual name of the boy. The title will make more sense later in the story.

Don't own anything.

* * *

Sirius watched Harry sleep with a small smile on his face. Today had definitely been eventful. To top it all off he had received an apology from Fudge himself. Not that he wasn't still angry with the ministry for the way his case was handled in the first place.

A small frown appeared on his face as he thought of the other reason he had come here. Other than to protect Harry, and get Peter, of course. He had gone to a few of the Quidditch matches but not just to see Harry. He wondered what Harry would think when he found out the secret that Sirius had been keeping.

Sirius didn't have to look over when he heard someone approaching to know who it was.

"We will need to talk." Dumbledore said. Sirius nodded, but stayed where he was for the moment. There was one side of him that was itching just leave and find the boy, to tell him the truth right then and there. _You mean the side that landed you in Azkaban for twelve years? _Sirius shook his head. He didn't need the reminder.

"I suppose we do." He said, finally looking away from Harry.

* * *

"I want to see him." Sirius said as soon as he they got to Dumbledore's office. He didn't sit down. He hadn't really felt the urge to sit still since he had escaped Azkaban.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"He's my son," Sirius scowled at Dumbledore, "you want to keep me away from him, like you're probably planning on keeping me away from Harry?" Sirius smirked humorlessly at the man. "I'm not stupid."

"Your son has lived all this time not knowing you. He has a family who loves him. I am sorry that you did not get the chance to know him, but do you really think it wise to rip him away from the only family he has ever known?" Sirius finally slumped down in the chair opposite Dumbledore.

"I've missed twelve years with him." He said, for the first time allowing the pain of that to swell. He had dealt before, focused solely on finding and killing the man who was responsible for all of this.

Anger rose once again when he thought of Peter. Not just anger at his former friend, but at himself as well. _He _was the one who had suggested that James and Lily change their secret keeper. _He _was the one who had gone after Peter.

He had effectively sealed his own fate the night that he had gone after Peter rather than staying at home like he should have. Maybe it wouldn't have changed things, they still would have thought he was the one who betrayed Lily and James, but he'd never really know.

He had been so consumed by rage and grief that night. He hadn't allowed his mind to wonder to what might have happened if he had made the decision not to go after the traitor. At least he hadn't until he caught sight of his son after he had come to Hogwarts this year.

What if he hadn't? Would he have been able to convince the ministry and Dumbledore what really happened? Peter would not have been thought dead, after all. Would he have been able to raise his son himself?

Sirius wasn't usually one to think about these sorts of things. He had to admit that he had the 'jump first, think later' mentality most of the time. It had been that way while he was in school.

His son, though, his little boy who was really no longer a child anymore but nearly a man himself had changed that. He remembered clearly finding out that he was a father. He had only been eighteen at the time, just out of Hogwarts when one of the girls he had dated there had come to him with a baby in her arms.

He had thought at one time that the girl was one of his many mistakes. She was a nasty piece of work, that was sure and Sirius hadn't spent much time with her after figuring that out. She had passed him the baby and then left. Just like that. She had tried to get close to him because of his status at school and then wanted to get far away for the same reason. Sirius suspected that she might have been one of the many who had turned to Voldemort's side after school. She hadn't wanted to be associated with him in any way, and that included raising his child.

At the time, Sirius had been shocked, and admittedly in over his head. He was still basically a kid at the time and at a loss of what to do with a baby. His friends had helped. Remus and James had been great and it didn't take long to get attached to the child, who did have his mothers light brown hair but grey eyes just like his.

He had felt a swell of pain and pride at how his son had turned out when he had caught glimpses of the boy throughout the year. He wondered if the kid would be any different had he raised him and thought that he didn't know him enough to really wonder that.

He wanted desperately to remedy that but he had to admit that Dumbledore had a point. How could he cause his son pain when he could prevent it? The man had seen that his son go to people that he said were good. A good wizarding family that took care of him when Sirius couldn't. Could he really rip that away from him?

* * *

When Madame Pomphrey insisted he stay in the hospital wing, Harry had only smiled brightly at her when he normally would have grumbled. He couldn't help it. Nothing was going to spoil his good mood.

They had succeeded. Pettigrew was locked up, Sirius was free, and he would never have to see the Dursley's again. He thought that he had never been this happy before, not even when he had found out he was a wizard.

There was only one small thing that was troubling him. He had the distinct impression that Sirius was hiding something else. Something that Professor Lupin knew about as well. He did not get the impression that whatever it was wasn't a bad thing, but still...He thought back to when he had first woken up in the Hospital Wing and overheard the end of a conversation between Lupin and Sirius. They had obviously thought he was still asleep.

_"I saw him, Remus!" The first thing Harry heard when he woke up was Sirius' voice. He actually sounded exited. "Did you?"_

_"Of course I did," Lupin answered, his voice lower than Sirius'. "I have been teaching here, remember?"_

_"I bet he's brilliant! He seems so, anyways. I wish I could have gotten closer, but I probably would have scared him to death..." Sirius' voice trailed off and Harry thought he sounded sad at the end. He frowned. Who were they talking about?_

_"Sirius, I think maybe you should focus on Harry right now. Do you think Dumbledore will let you keep him with you?"_

_"He won't have a choice." Sirius' voice was calm, but there was something of a threat there. "Lily and James will left me as his guardian. If he wants to protest it, we could take it to the courts. He can't break their will, though. My record is being cleared right now. He doesn't have a say anymore."_

_"Sirius-" Lupin's voice broke off as Harry heard the door open..._

Harry knew that they hadn't been talking about him at the start of the conversation. So, who had they been talking about? A student, obviously.What student, besides himself, had any kind of connection to Sirius?

* * *

Remus sighed as he settled in the chair behind his desk. He rubbed a hand across his forehead, sighing. He was happy that Sirius was free now, and that he would be able to take in Harry, but there was another worry. Sirius' son.

Remus had seen the boy, of course. He had known that Sirius' kid was here, but he hadn't seen the boy since he was four. The boy obvously didn't remember anything of Sirius or himself, and Remus had to wonder what Albus had done to ensure this.

If the boy had remembered anything of that time, Remus was sure that he would have sought out Harry when Harry had first come to Hogwarts. James had spent a great deal of time with the kid, after all.

Wizards did have longer memories. Someone had to of erased those from his mind. It was a sad thought, but Remus understood the reasoning behind it. It had been to keep him safe. After all, Sirius was thought to be a Death Eater at the time.

Remus had known who the kid was the first moment he had stepped into the classroom for Defense, and he had met grey eyes. He still remembered how that four year old boy had looked.

The kid was exceptionally talented. He excelled in nearly all his classes. Remus had watched from afar as he interacted with the other children, and he had to admit that his personality wasn't much like Sirius' had been in school. Not that he expected to see a mini Sirius.

Remus wondered about the kid. He was Sirius' after all, and the boy had called him uncle at one time years ago. He had felt a pain in his chest when he realized that the kid didn't recognize him at all.

He hadn't known how to approach the boy, though. He had a valid reason to talk to Harry, not so with Sirius' boy. He had kept an eye on the boy throughout the year, before he had realized that Sirius was innocent, making sure he was safe. He knew that Dumbledore was doing the same.

It was a great relief that Sirius was free, but he wondered how his friend would deal with this situation. How could he?

Sirius aimlessly wondered the halls of Hogwarts, memories coming up every now and then of his school years. He hadn't been here in so long. Well, he hadn't been here when he wasn't on the run from the ministry in a long time.

He frowned slightly as his thoughts drifted to the conversation he had with Dumbledore. The man kept insisting that they send Harry back to his aunt and uncle. Sirius, however, had shot that down when Harry, who had overheard this, had reacted rather violently.

Sirius had been surprised at what Harry had said, and then angry. Harry had not thought twice about accepting his offer the first time, and just a few hours ago, he had practically begged Sirius not to make him go back there. He had revealed that his relatives hated him in a profound way. Sirius had glared at Dumbledore and told the man that he would be taking Harry.

It was all the problem of protection and Sirius grimaced at the suggestion of a place they could live. True it was very secure and Dumbledore could make it more so but he still didn't like the idea of going back there. It was no place for a kid Harry's age either.

The other problem Sirius had was his own son. He wanted so badly to see him, and he didn't think that, now that he was out, he could just stay away. He didn't know how to approach his son without telling him the truth, though.

Sirius was so lost in thought that he ran right into someone. Reacting instinctively, he reached out and grabbed the person's shoulders when they stumbled and looked up to meet the grey eyes of his son.


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter goes through Harry's third year from Sirius' son's point of view. I said I'd say who it is, so…

* * *

Cedric Diggory was having the strangest year yet. It was over now, but he wondered what would be in store once he went home again. He admitted that it had started with his dad last summer…

* * *

Cedric had spent some time at a friends house weeks into the summer holidays after his fourth year at Hogwarts. This had become common practice for him. He preferred spending time at one of his best friends, Alec Carter's, houses rather than staying home the entire time. His dad never objected.

Alec's parents were great people. His mum was muggle and his dad was a wizard. He liked Alec's dad, who was nothing like Cedric's. Alec's mum seamed to be amused endlessly by the magic displays. She had kept her car when she married Alec's dad and ended up driving into muggle London to her job everyday. Cedric was amused by the complaining that he heard about Alec not being able to get away with much around the house as his mother was a lawyer.

Alec and Cedric were outside when Cedric's dad came to get him. Cedric watched his dad warily as the man approached and threw an arm around Cedric's shoulder. He grinned brightly at the Carter's.

This did not really alarm Cedric. Amos Diggory wasn't usually so cheerful but then again, he never really knew. Sometimes, Cedric wondered if the man had been hit with spells he didn't know about.

Amos seemed content as they traveled the floo back to their house. Cedric watched his dad warily as they stepped out of the fireplace. He wondered how long this good mood would last this time.

Ever since he could remember, Cedric's dad hadn't exactly been normal. When he had been younger, he thought it was because of the way his mum had died. Amos had told him that she had died in the war against Voldemort.

When he got older, however, he began to wonder about that. His dad seemed fine most of the time, at least as far as he could tell. He worked for the ministry and had recently gotten a promotion there. His job wasn't the grandest but he seemed fine with it.

But at home, Cedric saw it. Sometimes after speaking with his father, he would catch the man standing in the middle of a room and looking utterly confused, like he had lost something. He'd stutter over his words and stare at Cedric like he didn't recognize him.

Once a few years ago, he and Alec had climbed the tree in the back of Alec's yard. Alec had fallen out and ended up with a pretty severe concussion. At times, Amos' behavior reminded him of Alec's after he had helped his friend up off the ground. He'd had to repeat that he was going to get Alec's dad several times before Alec had actually registered what he had said.

Then there were the weird mood swings. At times, Amos acted as if he hadn't seen Cedric in years and that Cedric was the most important thing in his world. They'd spend time together, Amos entirely enthusiastic about it.

Then, something would be said, and Amos would switch on a dime. He'd become cold, angry, and almost accusatory, like Cedric was stealing something from him.

Alec's parents had a very large library of both muggle and wizarding books. His mum was a pretty high paid lawyer among the muggle world and his dad was last in line of one of the pureblood families.

Alec had suggested one time that maybe his dad had one of the disorders he found mentioned in one of his mum's books. Cedric had read something about this, but he had dismissed it as well.

It all came down to one thing, and that was that his dad only acted this way when he was around Cedric. Sometimes, Cedric thought that maybe his dad blamed him for something that even he couldn't remember.

* * *

"So, wait," Alec sat up on his bed, staring down at Cedric, who was lying on the floor, "your dad found a woman?" Cedric grimaced.

"Yes. And he's acting completely mad around her, too." Alec shrugged.

"I thought your dad was always mad."

"Even more so now!" Cedric's voice rose slightly in exasperation. "He's always so cheerful." Alec raised an eyebrow.

"And that's a bad thing why?" Cedric simply scowled at Alec's ceiling.

"It's just freaking me out a little bit." Cedric bounced a ball back and forth in his hands.

"Maybe it's a good thing," Alec suggested after a moment, "I mean, maybe your dad will calm down a bit now. You know, not be so…freaky anymore." Cedric grimaced again.

"I really don't see that happening. Besides, this woman is just a strange. I could swear that she can't stand being in the same room as Dad, but she's always there anyways. This whole situation is weird."

"So, she just showed up last week when your dad came and got you?" Cedric nodded.

"Huh." Alec was silent for a moment, before leaning over the side of the bed again. "Hey, you know that's like a day before they announced that Sirius Black escaped." Cedric rolled his eyes.

"Was this whole conversation a lead up to that?" He asked, sitting up and leaning against the wall. "Are did you honestly think that Sirius Black has something to do with my father's new girlfriend?"

"Funny." Cedric just grinned at him, but it faded soon when he did think about it. His father had seemed even more…weird after seeing the news about Sirius Black.

Cedric frowned as he thought about his father's expression when he had caught sight of the newspaper with Black's photo printed on it. He had thought that Amos looked angry, and could have sworn there was something like recognition in his eyes. He told Alec this.

"Maybe your dad was there or something," Alec shrugged, "I mean; maybe he knows what he did or something." Cedric's frown deepened.

"But Dad wasn't really taking an active part of the war. He's never been an auror or anything. He admitted that he never really fought in it." And then there was the fact that his dad's new girlfriend had taken him into another room for a moment, and when he came back only a few minutes later he was a cheerful as ever.

"I don't suppose you'd have to be an active part to know what Black did though, do you? It's not like it's a well guarded secret that he killed all those people, is it?"

Cedric shook his head, but didn't voice his opinion on that one. He honestly didn't think his dad would get worked up over thirteen muggles getting killed. While his dad didn't hold to the purebloods beliefs strictly, he also didn't much care for muggles the way that some did.

The problem he had with his dad's new mood was mainly that it was a complete change in pattern. He had no idea what had started this, so he couldn't really guess when his dad would revert back to the anger.

Growing up with Amos was tiring, he had to admit. He had been anticipating the man's mood swings and planned accordingly, once he got old enough to. Alec was the only one of his friends who really knew how crazy his dad was.

He had figured out a while back that he was the sole reason for these mood changes. He had figured out that talking about his mum or, well anything really from his childhood could do it. Sometimes even mentioning Dumbledore could as well, which he didn't really get.

Alec had tried to get him to tell someone about it, or at least try and convince his dad to see someone. His dad had reacted rather violently when he had mentioned something like that, though.

Plus, his dad only got like that around him. He was the reason for it, and he couldn't help but to wonder what he did to make his dad so unstable. He could deal with it. He had dealt fine for years before he had even told Alec. Plus, the October after this one coming up, he would be turning seventeen. It wasn't like he'd be spending incredible amounts of time with the man anyways.

* * *

Cedric had never been happier when September rolled around and they would be leaving for Hogwarts. His dad's new girlfriend insisted, for some reason, on coming along with him, even walking through the barrier with him.

Cedric ignored her, saying a goodbye to his dad, who, still in the cheerful mood, pulled him into a hug before letting him go off.

* * *

Cedric sat through Dumbledore's announcement about the dementors fairly calmly. He was trying not to think about his summer now that he was at school. Now he had a new set of worries, although he was fairly certain he shouldn't be too worried.

The school thing had been a fairly new development on his dad's end, starting around Cedric's third year. For some reason, he dad seamed unreasonably angry any time his grades even slipped a little, and he was unreasonably happy that Cedric had been made Prefect.

Anytime during his years at Hogwarts he and Alec got into any kind of trouble his dad would get that look in his eyes, like he was confused and then he'd get angry. Cedric wasn't really worried about this. He only had three more years of school, after all, and it wasn't like his dad was violent or anything.

* * *

Nothing really interesting happened in his first week at Hogwarts. Nothing, until, that was, he got to his first Defense class with the new teacher. Professor Lupin had come in, started to introduce himself and stopped short, mid speech.

Cedric had looked up, met the Professor's eyes and the man had frozen. Cedric frowned, staring back at him. For a moment, this continued, and then Cedric broke eye contact to look around at the class who were also staring at the both of them.

Lupin seemed to regain himself somewhat and started again, but Cedric noticed the look he gave him as he instructed them to get out their wands.

* * *

Cedric didn't ask Alec or any of his other friends about it. Lupin had basically ignored him the rest of the class and he couldn't think of why the man would stumble over him. He had never met him before, never even heard of him.

This, of course, was driven out of his mind once they started Quidditch season. He liked the game a great deal, and was happy for the distraction.

* * *

The win against Gryffindor was not what he considered a fine moment. He did not like the way he had won. He didn't like winning a game like that. The ruling stood, though.

* * *

He didn't really want to go home for Christmas, but he figured that his father would make him, he did every year. He was surprised, however, when he got a note from his father saying that he could stay at Hogwarts this year.

* * *

"You're being paranoid." Alec said, rolling his eyes at Cedric while they sat in the common room.

"He always makes me come home for Christmas." Cedric insisted, chewing his lip.

"Did you want to go home for Christmas?" He waited for Cedric to shake his head. "Then why are you complaining? I know this is something new, but come on. Maybe it has something to do with the woman he's been dating."

"That's the thing," Cedric leaned forward, "he hasn't mentioned anything about her when he writes to me."

"Cedric, you said yourself that he hardly writes you novels when he does write to you here. Does he ever include anything like that?"

"He doesn't date, _ever. _At least not to my knowledge."

"Well, then. There you go. Maybe that's it. I think growing up with him has made you a bit paranoid, Ced. You need to relax."

"I can't," Cedric sighed and leaned back in his seat. He just knew that it was something more than his dad's normal eccentricities.

* * *

Fortunately for him, nothing much happened after that. At least, nothing happened to _him. _

He, along with the entire school, heard about what happened with Black. By the end of term, everyone in school knew that, according to Dumbledore and Harry Potter, Sirius Black was innocent.

Near the end of term most of this was driven out of his head as he was due to take OWLs. Most of his class was stressing pretty hard about that.

By this time, his father's communication with him had seemingly gone back to normal. The man was writing him the same short, to the point, notes he had his previous four years at school, and nothing else of interest happened.

Until, that was, he was walking late one night close to the end of term, lost in thought. He was pretty confident he had done well on his OWLs. For a moment he let his mind wonder to his father and how things might be when he went home for summer.

He was so lost in thought that he ran head on into a man, who reached out a grabbed his shoulders to steady him when he stumbled. Cedric looked up and met the grey eyes of Sirius Black.

* * *

Okay, so I picked Cedric for several reasons. I'm sure you guys can guess some of them…

Also, Cedric's birthday. I took a guess there that it had to be somewhere in either September or October. In the fourth book, he is a sixth year but he's also seventeen by the time that they start choosing champions, which I think was in late October? I just figured that if his birthday was earlier than that (say July like Harry's), then he'd be in his seventh year not sixth when Harry's in fourth. Either that or he was held back a year…which is a possibility(If her books allow for that). I know that happens sometimes for reasons other than grades.


	3. Chapter 3

Sirius froze on the spot, and stared into his son's eyes for several moments. It took him several minutes to realize that the boy was frowning at him and had probably said something. He broke out of the daze, though, when the boy stepped back a little, out of his grip.

"Sorry." Sirius said after a moment, running a hand through his hair and suddenly feeling incredibly grateful that he had gotten a bit cleaned up. His son shrugged. His son, Cedric, who was frowning a little at the him.

"Yeah." The boy fidgeted a little, watching Sirius. "Me too. I've got to-" He gestured in the opposite direction and started to leave.

"I'm not dangerous, you know? I've never killed anyone." Cedric stopped and turned to him, a frown back on his face.

"I know," he said after a moment, "I heard what happened." Sirius nodded, relieved that his son believed it. "Why do you care what I think, though?"

"Would you want people believing that you were a mass murderer?"

"I suppose not."

"Sirius." Sirius jumped at the voice and looked behind him as Remus came up. Remus gave him a look that had him feeling a little guilty, before he turned to Cedric. Cedric gestured back the way he came.

"I've got to go…finish packing, I guess." Sirius and Remus both watched him leave.

"What are you doing?" Remus asked when he was sure that Cedric was well out of hearing distance.

"I'm not doing anything," anger tinged Sirius' voice, "I was out walking, so was he. We ran into each other. Literally." He followed Remus back to his office, where his things were packed up as well.

"What are you going to do now?" Remus asked after a moment. Sirius shrugged and dropped down in one of the chairs.

"What am I supposed to do? You guys have a point. I can't just walk up to him and go 'guess what! I'm your real dad!'." Remus nodded.

"Are you going to be able to do this? I mean, stay away?"

"What choice do I have?" He watched Sirius for a moment. It was true that he hadn't really known Sirius for twelve years but he was worried about this. If Sirius hadn't changed too much and judging from what he had seen so far he hadn't, he doubted that Sirius would be able to stay away for long.

"Just, whatever you do, be careful."

* * *

"Just come over when you feel like it. You know my dad won't mind." Alec said as they came to one compartment with Patrick Atkins and Natalie Cooke already inside. The rest of the ride passed rather quickly as they talked with several other friends.

Before long, Cedric was getting off, saying goodbye to his friends and heading towards his father.

* * *

Harry had said goodbye to Ron and Hermione but he still hadn't left Hogwarts himself. Sirius had said that they were still working out the issue of where they would live. Dumbledore had already suggested one place that made Sirius grimace and shake his head.

Sirius still seemed a little bit distracted. He had come out with Harry to watch the students leaving the castle. Something was going on and he wished he knew what it was that Sirius was hiding.

He still couldn't believe that he was getting away from the Dursley's. He wouldn't ever have to see those people again hopefully. He remembered hoping when he was younger that someone would come to take him away and now it was happening.

It was obvious to him that Sirius didn't think he should be living wherever it was that Dumbledore had suggested, but Harry didn't much care where they lived. He figured he'd be happy in a cardboard box if Sirius was there with him.

"What's going on?" Harry asked as soon as Sirius stepped into the common room. Harry was still staying in Gryffindor until they figured out a good place for them to stay.

"Well, we got a house. They're just putting some protection around it right now. Well, a lot of protection. I figure by the time they're done it'll be impossible to get into."

"That's good." Sirius nodded and sat down across from Harry.

"So, how are you doing?" Harry grinned.

"Are you kidding? I'm doing great. I still can't believe this is happening." Sirius smiled back at him and looked off for a moment. Harry frowned.

"Are you alright?" Sirius turned back to him.

"I'm fine, kid." He leaned forward. "So, want to check out the new house?"

* * *

Cedric frowned thoughtfully at his food. He had been back for a day and Amos hadn't started acting weird yet. He had expected it, but he was also expecting that to change sometime in the next week.

His father would act perfectly normal for the first few days he came back from Hogwarts and then he'd start acting weird. He usually went over to Alec's when his dad got really crazy.

"So, how was your year?" Amos asked after a moment, smiling at Cedric.

"Good." Cedric said, shrugging. He hadn't mentioned the most of what had happened at Hogwarts in his letters because of the way that Amos had reacted to seeing Sirius Black's picture in the newspaper at the beginning of the year.

He frowned a little, thinking about the very strange meeting he had with Sirius Black at the end of the school year, and the weird way the man had looked at him. Then there was the way that Professor Lupin had looked at Black, like he was doing something wrong.

After a minute, Cedric shrugged it off. Black had spent twelve years in Azkaban, his people skills probably weren't the best. Plus, it wasn't like everyone would believe that he was innocent, even with overwhelming evidence. Wondering around the halls at Hogwarts couldn't be the best of ideas.

"I do read the papers, Ced." Amos said, bringing him out of his thoughts. "I know what's been happening there." Cedric shrugged.

"It's not like it has anything to do with me."

"Of course not." But his father frowned as he said it, and he stared off into space for a moment. Cedric watched him wearily for a moment before excusing himself. Sometimes if he left, his father would snap out of it.

Sighing, Cedric lay down in his bed. It was already starting again. This was going to be a long summer.

* * *

"It's wonderful." Harry said, grinning as he walked into his new home with Sirius, who smiled in return.

"Well, they made it as safe as can be. This place is practically a fortress." The house wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either. It was out in the country, and Sirius had said that there were many wards around it.

Sirius showed him the place, stopping at one of the rooms, and proclaiming that it was Harry's. There was a bed already there and his things were sitting on top of it. Harry grinned and bounced on it.

"It's great." He said, grinning like mad.

* * *

Harry got up early the next morning. He had barely slept at all. He and Sirius hadn't talked much the night before on account of the fact that it had been pretty late.

Harry was just too exited and wired to sleep. The kitchen was stocked with food and Harry decided to cook something for breakfast, figuring that Sirius probably wouldn't be so great at it considering where he had been the past twelve years.

* * *

Sirius had barely slept at all the night he and Harry had gotten to their new home. He was happy to be out. He was happy that his record was cleared and that Harry was staying with him, but he couldn't stop thinking about his son.

Seeing the boy briefly at Hogwarts had done that. It wasn't like he hadn't seen his son at all. He had throughout the year when he was trying to get into the castle to get to Peter but he had, for the fist time since the boy had been four, seen him face to face. Talked to him, even.

The need to see his son again was almost overwhelming, especially at night when nobody else was around. He knew that Dumbledore and Remus were right, but the prospect of his kid never knowing about him, of never seeing his kid again…

* * *

"You cooked?" Sirius asked, stopping short in the kitchen doorway. Harry shrugged, sitting the food on the table.

"Why? Is something wrong? Do you not like your room? I could-"

"It's not that!" Harry interrupted him, smiling. "I was just too hyper to sleep. I mean, I always thought I wouldn't leave the Dursley's until I was legally an adult, you know?"

"Oh." Sirius said. He sat at the table. "You know, you don't have to cook." Harry raised an eyebrow and sat down as well.

"Really? Are you going to?" Sirius stopped and grinned a little, but it faded a little.

"I'm just saying; don't feel like you have to, because you don't." Harry smiled wider. They ate breakfast, which Sirius noted was very good and Sirius told Harry a few stories about his days at school with James.

They were both laughing throughout and when they left the table, Harry was unable to keep the large grin off his face.

* * *

Much to the delight of both Sirius and Harry, Remus was practically living with them now as well. He had started coming over more and more often. Harry didn't think he'd ever been happier. He had once thought that nothing could beat coming to Hogwarts for the first time. He was wrong.

Still, he couldn't help but to notice that something was going on with Sirius and Remus. Sometimes they would be talking about something and immediately change the subject when they noticed him coming in the room.

Also, Sirius was leaving to go somewhere every now and then and Remus was not happy about it.

* * *

Sirius couldn't help it. He had agreed to stay away from his son, to not tell him the truth, but the urge to see the boy wouldn't leave. He wasn't sleeping to well with it either.

Remus wasn't happy about it, but he had eventually agreed to stay with Harry while Sirius went to the Diggory's to watch over his son when he could in his dog form.

Sirius knew that Remus thought it wasn't healthy. That he should move on with his life, focus on Harry, but Remus didn't know what it was like. He couldn't just forget about his son.

He only went when Remus would take Harry out or when Harry was sleeping. It wasn't like he was neglecting Harry. He couldn't forget. He couldn't just settle for never seeing his child again.


End file.
